Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman jumped to second place in the new MRF Tyres ICC Men’s ODI Batting Rankings after a sensational performance in the ongoing home series against New Zealand.
The left-arm batsman advanced eight ranks to become the closest ranked challenger to skipper Babar Azam, who maintained his lead with 887 points.
Fakhar Zaman has started Pakistan’s ongoing ODI series in style, smashing back-to-back hundreds to put his team in command of the five-match series.
The left-hander scored 117 in the first match of the series in Rawalpindi and then followed it up with an unbeaten 180 in the second match at the same venue, earning him an eight-spot rise to second behind Babar in the current rankings update.
Fakhar has three ODI centuries in a row and has risen to a career-high rating of 784 rating points, making him the closest rival to his captain although trailing by 103 rating points.
Pakistan currently has three players in the top five on the newest ODI batting charts ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup later this year, with Imam-ul-Haq continuing in fifth place behind his two teammates, as well as South Africa’s Rassie van der Dussen and India’s Shubman Gill.
New Zealand’s stars weren’t completely shut out, with Tom Latham and Daryl Mitchell emerging as significant winners after strong beginnings to the series in Pakistan.
Latham’s 98 in the second match of the series pushes him up three places to equal 29th, while Mitchell’s 129 in the same game propels him from outside the top 100 to 57th on the ODI batting rankings.
